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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23242972">First Impressions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/vidoxi/pseuds/vidoxi'>vidoxi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gangs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:49:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23242972</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/vidoxi/pseuds/vidoxi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zariah's first meeting with the gang.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>First Impressions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>a short scene of the OCs my friend and i created. view what the characters look like here and additional things about them: <a href="https://vidoxi.tumblr.com/post/612900843716591616/%E5%85%A8400%E7%A8%AE%E4%BB%A5%E4%B8%8A%E3%81%AE%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%84%E3%82%92%E4%BD%BF%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%8A%E5%A5%BD%E3%81%BF%E3%81%AE%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%A9%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%81%8C%E4%BD%9C%E6%88%90%E3%81%A7%E3%81%8D%E3%82%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%89%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E6%A5%B5%E6%A5%BD%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%92%E5%85%AC%E9%96%8B%E3%81%97%E3%81%BE%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E4%BD%9C">here</a></p><p>i'm only really intending for raptor to read this but if you want to read it too im not gonna like, stop you lmao</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zariah raised a trembling fist to the door. Hesitation tensed her body, and a bead of sweat ran down the side of her temple. The music coming from inside, a low bassy trap house beat, was so loud she doubted that whoever was inside would be able to hear her anyway. If they couldn't hear the dogs barking they wouldn't be able to hear her knock, she was sure.</p><p><em>"I'll make sure the dogs are chained up, so you don't gotta worry about them eatin' ya alive or nothin',"</em> the curvy redhead had told her.</p><p><em>"Oh, don't worry about it, I love dogs!,"</em> Zariah had replied, waving a manicured hand dismissively. </p><p>Now, though, with said dogs leaping at her and straining their chains, ropes of spittle flying from their fangs, she's glad for the woman's foresight. </p><p>Feeling a bit foolish, she knocked as loudly as she could, and shuffled her platform boots on the beat up welcome mat. Fall was coming in fast, and the chilled air went right through her leather jacket. She folded her arms in a useless attempt to warm herself. </p><p>As expected, no one seemed to be coming to the door. </p><p>She grasped the doorknob, and swallowed hard. </p><p>It wouldn't be very gangster to just give up and leave, would it? The door would probably be locked anyway.</p><p>It opened. </p><p>Letting loose a tense breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, Zariah pursed her black-smeared lips, and stepped into the house. </p><p>It was warm and dark in the entryway. She could see light coming from a room at the end of the hall, and as she strained her ears she was sure she could hear voices. Squinting her eyes to try to make sure she didn't trip over anything, she made her way down the hall as the voices became louder. </p><p>She breached the living room entryway just in time to see an asian girl, long blue hair done up in rounded buns, launch herself at another girl with a scream. The other girl, hispanic looking with a half-shaved hairstyle, was bowled over completely, pinned down. To Zariah's surprise, she laughed. </p><p>"The only reason you're gettin' so mad is 'cause you know it's true!," she grinned savagely up at her assailant. "Ya boyfriend looks like an emo Danny DeVito and you know i-" </p><p>"You think you're so funny, huh?!," the asian girl cut her off, eyes wide and wild, lips pulled back over her teeth. "You think you can just say that to me and get away with it?!" </p><p>The other girl rolled her eyes, looking entirely unconcerned. "I don't know why you're so offended anyway, it's not like you keep your boyfriends for more than a week-" </p><p>Suddenly, there was a switchblade in the asian girl's hand, raised above her head. </p><p>Zariah wanted to yell out, a warning or a plea to stop this, but the scream caught in her throat. As the blade came down, her hands flew up to cover her eyes. The thump of the knife making contact was audible even above the music. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. </p><p>"You fuckin' bitch!," she heard the hispanic girl snarl. </p><p>Peeking through her fingers, Zariah saw the knife, stuck through the edge of the girl's jacket, pinning her to the floor. </p><p>"I <em>just</em> fuckin' bought this!," she fumed, grasping the hilt of the knife and pulling it out. She cast it aside with a clatter, instead opting to wrap her hands around the blue-haired girl's throat and flipping their positions. </p><p>"Go! Go! Go!," a voice cheered. </p><p>Zariah hadn't noticed her before, the girl on the couch. All she seemed to be wearing was an oversized button-up shirt, with something red smeared on the white collar. Her short purple hair was pulled up into tiny, messy pigtails. She clapped her hands, giggling absently as the two girls on the ground struck each other and screamed like feral cats. </p><p>"Who are ya even rooting for, Sooz?," another voice asked. She was dark-skinned and thin, lounging in a hammock in the corner that had been strung up from the ceiling. Her fuchsia hair stuck up messily, and a lit cigarette was clasped between her slender fingers. </p><p>The girl on the couch's smile fell, turning to a small "O" in realization. "I dunno! Do you wanna bet? Trix? A li'l bet? Hm, hm?" </p><p>The black girl raised the cigarette to her lips, eyes sliding shut as she took a long, slow drag. The bass from the music seemed to pulse through Zariah's body, and she wondered how any of them could even hear themselves think. Finally, the smoke left the girl's mouth in a grey cloud.</p><p>"Twenny on Yu." </p><p>The other girl's face lit up. "Great! Hey, Al! I got twenny big ones on ya! Don't lose!" </p><p>Zariah turned her attention back to the fighting girls. One of the asian girl's hair buns had come out in the struggle, and she seemed to be trying to wrench the other girl's arm from the socket. </p><p>"<em>What</em> is all this racket?!" </p><p>At the sight of the leader of the gang stomping her way into the room, Zariah nearly sagged with relief. Finally, someone she recognized.</p><p>Roxanne's bushy red hair stood in contrast with her pale skin. Her dark eye makeup was smeared, and the sleeve of her top hung off one shoulder dangerously low, one of her boobs threatening to fall out of her shirt. A green-tinted bottle was held loosely in the hand that wasn't on her hip. </p><p>"Break it up right now!," she snapped, shoving the girls apart. "Why don't you save it for the skags from the other gangs, huh?!"</p><p>They obeyed quickly though with some reluctance, getting to their feet and rubbing at their injuries as Roxanne turned the music off. </p><p>"That goth chick I told you all about is gonna be here any time!," she addressed the whole room, scowling. "Pull yourselves together! I want this place tidy and lookin' decent! I won't have ya embarrassin' us, got it?" </p><p>"Uh, Rox?," the girl in the hammock interjected. "It might be a li'l late for that..." </p><p>Roxanne followed her line of sight, coming to rest on Zariah's tense face. All the eyes in the room were suddenly on her. </p><p>Zariah stuttered out an excuse about the door and the music that she wasn't sure was coherent, clenching her hands at her sides to stop herself from wringing them. </p><p>Roxanne pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Oh my god." Her look of defeat was short-lived, however. She straightened, grinning broadly. "Hey, girly! Glad you got here alright!" She strode forward and threw an arm around Zariah's waist, bringing the reluctant girl further into the room. "Why don't you all introduce yourselves, huh?" </p><p>They all seemed to exchange a look, and then the hispanic girl came forward, hand outstretched. </p><p>"I'm Alejandra!," she chirped, grinning broadly as Zariah shook her hand. Zariah wasn't sure how she could be so chipper with a big bruise actively forming on her cheek. "I'm sure you've already met my pitbulls- the girls are Pretty and Pink, and the male is Diablo." </p><p>"Oh, yes! They're very... uhh..." She thought back to the snapping, snarling dogs. "Cute?" </p><p>"My name is Yurako," the unsmiling asian girl said. Zariah noticed that her accent was a curious mix of whatever her native accent was, and the Boston dialect that everyone around here spoke in. She didn't offer her hand, instead wiping at a bloodied nose with the back of her wrist. </p><p>"And I'm Suzy!," the purple-haired girl slid off the couch and managed to toddle to her feet with seemingly some effort. Her eyes seemed to swim and struggle to focus on Zariah, and as she came closer she began to fall. Zariah gasped, instinctively holding out her arms to catch her. </p><p>"Are you okay?!," she questioned into the top of her head, the girl limp in her arms. </p><p>Her face slowly tilted up to meet Zariah's. "Oh! I like your makeup!," she smiled, and then found her footing, disentangling from Zariah but still swaying a bit. "Oh, yes, I'm fine," she giggled. </p><p>"Suzy's usually like that," Roxanne reassured her, as the dark skinned girl rolled her way out the hammock. "Don't worry about it." </p><p>"Trix," the last girl introduced herself, and Zariah shook the offered hand. </p><p>"How'd you get that nickname?," Zariah asked, offering a nervous smile that wasn't returned. </p><p>"Short for Trixie," she explained, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her baggy pants. "No one calls me that though." She said it with a finality that made Zariah realize she was part of "no one", and made a note to leave off the <em>ie</em>. </p><p>"You all can call me Zariah," she addressed them in the way she had rehearsed in her head, putting on a practiced smirk. </p><p>"Zariah, huh? I guess it's more interesting than <em>Mary."</em> </p><p>Spinning on the spot, she turned towards the voice to see Alejandra, holding a familiar wallet between her fingers, squinting at her driver's license. </p><p>"Hey!," Roxanne exploded, snatching the wallet and shoving it back into Zariah's shocked hands. "In this gang you don't pickpocket your fellow gang members, got it?" </p><p>"Sorry, boss," Alejandra smiled innocently, turning up her palms. </p><p>"Don't apologize to me, dummy, apologize to <em>her,"</em> she said, jerking her head towards Zariah. </p><p>"Sorry, <em>Zariah,</em>" she said, meeting her eyes readily. "Didn't take nothin', I swear." </p><p>"Fellow gang members, huh?," Trix interjected. "Does that mean she's already part of the gang?" </p><p>"Heyyy, that's no fair, is it Roxie?," a tiny frown creased Suzy's mouth. "What about the initiation the rest of us had to do, huh?" </p><p>"I agree," Yurako said, crossing her arms across her black sailor uniform. "Beyond just being fair, how do we know she has what it takes to be here without initiation? It's our right to be discriminatory in who we accept, we should not just-" </p><p>"Okay, okay, don't get ya panties in a bunch!," Roxanne waved her hands. "I never said she wasn't gonna do initiation, did I?"</p><p>She left Zariah's side to stand across from her with the rest of the group. </p><p>"Well, whaddya think so far? Ya wanna take the first step to bein' one of us?" </p><p>Zariah looked around at the faces of the girls around her. These were the real deal gangsters! Excitement and anxiety fluttered in her stomach. She swallowed hard, wondering if her next words were the nails in her coffin. </p><p>"Sure, why not." </p>
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